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Richard Kostelanetz Collection

Call Number

MSS.089

Date

1961-2000, inclusive

Creator

Kostelanetz, Richard

Extent

21 Linear Feet
in 16 boxes.

Language of Materials

Materials are primarily in English.

Abstract

Richard Kostelanetz is a major figure in the New York City downtown literary and art scene, as well as a performer, critic, scholar and an authority on concrete poetry. Included in the collection are copies of his printed works, including essays, anthologies, assemblings, contributions to periodicals, etc. Included also are: videos, sound recordings, and other materials which Kostelanetz produced from 1961-1997.

Biographical Note

Richard Kostelanetz was born on May 14, 1940, in New York, NY. He is the son of Boris, a lawyer, and Ethel (Cory) Kostelanetz. He received his B.A. from Brown University in 1962 with honors. He pursued graduate study at King's College in London from 1964 to 1965 and received an M.A. from Columbia University in 1966.

Richard Kostelanetz is a writer, visual artist, critic, poet, composer, filmmaker, holographer, video artist, and lecturer. His administrative history includes a diversity of positions, including: British Broadcasting Corp., London, England, producer-interviewer of program "New Release," 1965- 66; Assembling Press, New York City, co-founder and president, beginning 1970; City University of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York City, program associate in thematic studies. 1972-73; Future Press, New York City, literary director, 1976--; co-editor/publisher, Precisely: A Critical Magazine, 1977-84; RK Editions, New York City, sole proprietor, 1978--; coordinator-interviewer, "American Writing Today," Voice of America Forum Series, 1979-81; visiting professor of American studies and English at University of Texas at Austin in the Spring of 1977; guest of Mishkenot Sha'ananim, Jerusalem in 1979 and in 1986; guest of the DAAD Kunstlerprogramm in West Berlin, 1981-83; guest artist at WXXI-FM, Rochester, NY, 1975-76; Synapse, Syracuse University, 1975; Cabin Creek Center for Work and Environmental Studies, 1978; Electronic Music Studio of Stockholm, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, and 1988; Brooklyn College Center for Computer Music, 1982; WGBH-FM, Boston, 1983, Public Access Synthesizer Studio, New York City, 1983; Dennis Gabor Laboratory, Museum of Holography, 1985, 1989; Experimental TV Center, Owego, New York, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, and 1990; and Film/Video Arts, 1989.

Richard Kostelanetz has lectured and given readings of his poetry and fiction at numerous colleges and universities, including New York University, Cooper Union, Brown University, Harvard University, University of Iowa, Antioch College, Carnegie-Mellon University, University of Southern California, Rutgers University, Detroit Institute of Arts, and Barnard College. He has given one man exhibitions of visual art at numerous galleries. He has exhibited his holograms at the Museum of Holographyin New York City in 1978 and 1986. He has exhibited his book art, visual poetry, and other works in over 60 group exhibitions.

Kostelanetz has received the followings awards and fellowships: Woodrow Wilson fellow, 1962-63; Fulbright fellow, 1964-65; Pulitzer fellow in critical writing, 1965-66; Guggenheim fellow, 1967; Numbers: Poems and Stories was selected one of the Best Books of 1976 by the American Institute of Graphic Arts; National Endowment for the Arts grants in visual arts, 1976, 1978, 1979, and 1985, and in media arts, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1989, and 1990; Pushcart Prize, 1977; Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation grant, 1980; Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines editors' fellow, 1981; New York State Council on the Arts Media Services grant (through Future Press), 1982, and 1984; American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Award in serious music composition, annually, 1983-1991; American Public Radio Program Fund grant, 1985; Ann Arbor Film Festival prize, 1986.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: ANTHOLOGIES AND COLLECTIONS:

The Big House. New York: Ailanthus Press, 1978. A Big Jewish Book. Garden City: Anchor, 1978. Bory, Jean-Francois. Once Again. New York: New Directions, 1968. Colleagues. New York: Pittore Euforico, 1979. Conversations with Ralph Ellison. Ed. Maryemma Graham and Amritjit Singh. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1995. Deciphering America. Amsterdam: Kontexts, 1978. Delo Godina 21. Broj 3 (1975). Experiments in Prose. Chicago: Swallow Press, 1969. First-Person Intense. Santa Barbara: Mudborn Press, 1978. 4 Major Visual Poets: Ruth Jacoby, Richard Kostelanetz, Tom Ockerse, Michael Joseph Phillips. Ed. Michael Joseph Phillips. Indianapolis: Free University Press, 1980. Gallery Works Eight. Aptos, CA: Poets' Commune Publications, 1991. The Gorilla Salon. Portola Valley, CA: No Dead Lines, 1976. Hunter, J. Paul. Poetry. [The Norton Introduction to Literature]. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1973. Image Bank Post Card Show. Vancouver: Image Bank, 1977. Jarab, J. American Poetry and Poets of Four Centuries. Olomouc: Univerzity Palackeho, 1976. Kennedy, X. J. An Introduction to Poetry. 5th edition. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1982. ---. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 3rd edition. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1983. Knock Knock. New York: Bench Press, (1981). Konglomerati. [n.p., n.d.] La Monte Young/Marian Zazeela: Selected Writings. Munich: Heiner Friedrich, 1969. Literature and the Visual Arts in Contemporary Society. Ed. Suzanne Ferguson and Barbara Groseclose. Columbus: Ohio State UP, 1985. Lotta Poetica 1971-1975. [Brescia]: Factotum-Art, n.d. Loves, Etc. Garden City: Anchor Press, 1973. The Low-Tech Manual. New York: Low-Tech Press, 1981. NEONEO DO-DO EX GQ 1314. [n.p., n.d.] New American Poetry. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1973. 1970 - 1979. Oakland: Burning Books. The Norton Introduction to Literature. Combined Shorter Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1973. The Norton Introduction to Literature. Poetry. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1973. People Mirrors. Don Mills, Ont.: Thomas Nelson, 1974. Philadelphia Umbrella '80. [Philadelphia: Harry William Saffren, 1980.] Phillips, Michael Joseph. 4 Major Visual Poets. Indianapolis: Free University Press, 1980. Poetry and Literature. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1983. The Poets' Encyclopedia. New York: Unmuzzled Ox, 1979. Post-Romance: Artist's Valentines. New York: Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, 1982. The Pushcart Prize II: Best of the Small Presses. New York: Avon, 1977. Red Hand Book III. Atlanta: Pynyon Press, 1982. Re: Pages. Cambridge, MA: New England Foundation for the Visual Arts, 1981. Scope English Anthology. New York: Scholastic, 1984. Sound by Artists. Toronto: Art Metropole, 1990. Speaking Pictures. New York: Harmony Books, 1975. Surfiction: fiction now and tomorrow. Ed. Raymond Federman. Chicago:Swallow Press, 1981. Three Places in New Inkland. New York: Zartscorp, 1977. Time and Space Concepts in Art. New York: Pleiades Gallery, 1980. The Treasury of American Poetry. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1978. Visual Art Mathematics & Computers. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1979. Visuelle Poesie aus den. USA (1995). Worlds in Small. Vancouver, B.C.: Cacanadada, 1992. Written in Water; Written in Stone. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996. The Young American Poets. Chicago: Big Table, 1968.

BOOKS BY RICHARD KOSTELANETZ:

An ABC of Contemporary Reading. San Diego: San Diego State University Press, 1995. Aftertexts/Prose Pieces. Calexico, CA: Atticus Press, 1987. American Imaginations. Berlin: Merve, 1983. And So Forth. New York: Future Press, 1979.; Unbound. Autobiographien New York - Berlin. Berlin: Merve Verlag, 1986. Autobiographies. New York: Mudborn Press and Future Press, 1981. Collected Performance Texts. New York: RK Editions, 1991. Constructs. Reno: WCPR, 1975. Constructs. New York: RK Editions, 1991.; 7 Volumes Constructs Two. Milwaukee: WI; Membranr, 1978. Conversing with Cage. New York: Limelight Editions, 1988. Crimes of Culture. New York: Autonomedia, 1995. "The End;" Appendix; "Intelligent Writing" Reconsidered. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1979./ "The End;" Essentials; "Intelligent Writing" Epitomized. New York: Assembling Press, 1979. The End of Intelligent Writing: Literary Politics in America. New York: Sheed & Ward, 1974. Entrevista a John Cage. Barcelona: Anagrama, 1970. Epiphanies. Berlin: Literarisches Colloquium Berlin, 1983. Exhaustive Parallel Intervals. New York: Future Press, 1979. Exhaustive Scombination. Port Charlotee: Runaway Spoon Press, 1996. Fields, Turfs, Pitches, Arenas. Kansas City: BKMK Press, 1982. The Fillmore East. New York: Schirmer, 1995. Foreshortenings and other stories. Tuumba Press, 1978. The Grants-Fix to 1981: A Critical Examination of Publically Funded Literary Granting in the United States. New York: RK Editions, 1987. Hoptrangning och Planer. [n.p., n.d.] Human Alternatives. New York: William Morrow, 1971. Illuminations. Woodinville, WA: Laughing Bear, 1977. In the Beginning. Somerville, MA: Abyss, 1971. John Cage (Ex)plain(ed). New York: Schirmer, 1996. March. Mentor: Geerator Press, 1990. Metamorphosis in the Arts. Brooklyn: Assembling, 1980. Minimal Fictions. Santa Maria, CA: Asylum Arts, 1994. Modulations. Brooklyn: Assembling Press, 1975. More Short Fictions. Brooklyn: Assembling Press, 1980. The Music of Today. New York: Time Incorporated, 1967. The New Poetries and Some Old. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1991. Numbers 2. Columbus: Luna Bisonte Prods, 1977. The Old Fictions and the New. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland, 1987. The Old Poetries and the New. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1981. On Innovative Art(ist)s'. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland, 1992. On Innovative Music(ian)s. New York: Limelight Editions, 1989. On Innovative Performance(s). Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1994. One Million Words of Book Notes 1958-1993. Troy, NY: Whitson, 1996. One Night Stood. New York: Future Press, 1977. One Night Stood. 4th ed.(Newsprint) New York: Future Press, 1977. Openings and Closings. New York: D'Arc, 1975. Politics in the African-American Novel. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1991. Portraits from Memory. Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1975. Possibilities of Poetry. New York: Dell, 1970. Prose Pieces; Aftertexts. Calexico: Atticus Press, 1987. Published Encomia 1967-1991. New York: RK Editions, 1991. Radio Writings. Union City, NJ: Further State(s) of the Art, 1995. Recyclings.; Undated proof copy. Recyclings: A Literary Autobiography. Volume One, 1959-67. Brooklyn, Assembling Press, 1974. Recyclings, 1959-1981. New York: Future Press, [1981]. Reincarnations. New York: Future Press, 1981. Repartitions-IV. Port Charlotte, FL: Runaway Spoon Press, 1991. Short Fictions/Articulations. New York: Kulchur Foundation, 1974. Solos, Duets, Trios, & Choruses. New York: Future Press, 1991. Tabula Rasa. New York: RK Editions, 1978. The Theatre of Mixed-Means. New York: RK Editions, 1980. Turfs, etc. High/Coo Mini-chapbook 11, 1980. Twenties in the Sixties. Brooklyn, NY: Assembling, 1979. Twenties in the Sixties. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1979. Twenty-Two Years of References. (Ghost Dance 52, n.d.) Unfinished Business: An Intellectual Non-history, 1963-89. New York: RK Editions, 1990. Visual Language. Brooklyn, NY: Assembling Press, 1970. Wordsand: 1967-1978. Burnaby, B.C.: Simon Fraser University, 1978. Wordworks. Brockport, NY: BOA Editions, 1993.

WORKS EDITED BY RICHARD KOSTELANETZ

American Writing Today. Vols 1 & 2 (Forum Series). Washington, D.C., 1982. American Writing Today. Troy, NY: Whiston, 1991. Assembling. Brooklyn: Assembling, 1970. Assembling Assembling. Brooklyn, NY: Assembling, 1978. Aural Literature Criticism. New York: RK Editions, 1981. The Avant-Garde Tradition in Literature. Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1982. The B.B. King Companion. Ed. Richard Kostelanetz. New York: Shirmer, 1997. Beyond Left & Right. New York: William Morrow, 1968. Beyond Left & Right. [Diamond Gendai Sensho].;Japanese translation. Breakthrough Fictioneers. West Glover, VT: Something Else Press, 1973.; Hardcover and paperback copies Classic Essays on Twentieth-Century Music. Eds. Richard Kostelanetz and Joseph Darby. New York: Schirmer, 1996. A Critical (Ninth) Assembling. New York: Assembling Press, 1979. Edge of Adaptation. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1973.; Paperback and hardcover copies Eighth Assembling. 2 vols. Brooklyn: Assembling, 1978. Essaying Essays. New York: Out of London Press, 1975. Esthetics Contemporary. Buffalo: Promethus, 1978. Esthetics Contemporary. Revised edition. Buffalo: Promethus, 1989. Fourth Assembling : A Collection of Otherwise Unpublishable Manuscripts. Brooklyn: Assembling, 1973. The Frank Zappa Companion: Four Deacades of Commentary. Ed. Richard Kostelanetz with John Rocco. New York: Shirmer, 1997. Future's Fictions. New York: Panache, 1971. Gertrude Stein Advanced: An Anthology of Criticism. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland, 1990. Human Alternatives: Visions for Us Now. New York: Morrow, 1971. Imaged Words and Worded Images. New York: Outerbridge & Dienstfrey, 1970. In Youth. New York: Ballantine Books, 1972. John Cage. [Documentary Monographs in American Art] New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970. John Cage: An Anthology. New York: Da Capo Press, 1991. John Cage im Gesprach. Cologne: Dumont, 1989. John Cage: Writer. New York: Limelight Editions, 1993. Language & Structure in North America. Toronto: Kensington Arts Association, 1975. Master Minds. New York: Macmillan, 1969. Merce Cunningham. Pennington, NJ: A Cappella Books, 1992. Moholy = Nagy. New York: Praeger, 1970.; Hardcover and softcover. Moholy-Nagy. London: Allen Lane, 1974. Moholy-Nagy: An Anthology. New York: Da Capo Press, 1991. The New American Arts. New York: Horizon, 1965. The New American Arts. New York: Collier, 1967. Nicolas Slonimsky: The First Hundred Years. New York: Schirmer, 1994. On Contemporary Literature. New York: Avon, 1964. On Contemporary Literature. Expanded edition. New York: Avon, 1969. On Contemporary Literature. Plainview, NY: Books for Libraries, 1971. Possibilities of Poetry. New York: Dell Pub. Co., 1970. Precisely: 13-14-15-16 Poetics of the New Poetries. Eds. Richard Kostelanetz and Benjamin Hrushovski. (1982). Scenarios: Scripts to Perform. Brooklyn: Assembling, 1980. Second Assembling: A Collection of Otherwise Unpublishable Manuscripts. Brooklyn, NY: Assembling Press, 1971. Seeing Through Shuck. New York: Ballantine Books, 1972. Seventh Assembling. Brooklyn, NY: Assembling, 1977. Sixth Assembling. Brooklyn, NY: Assembling, 1975. Social Speculations. New York: William Morrow, 1971. Tenth Assembling. Brooklyn, NY: Assembling, 1980. Text-Sound Texts. New York: William Morrow, 1980.; Hardcover and paperback copies Third Assembling. Brooklyn, NY: Assembling, 1972. Twelve From the Sixties. New York: Dell, 1967. Viagem a literatur americana contemporanea. Rio de Janeiro: Nordica, 1985. Visual Lit Crit. Reno: WCPR, 1979. Visual Literature Criticism. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1979. Writings on Glass: essays, original writings, interviews, criticism. New York: Shirmer Books, 1997. The Yale Gertrude Stein. New Haven: Yale UP, 1980.; 1 hardcover copy; 1 paper copy The Young American Writers: Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Criticism. Ed. Richard Kostelanetz. New York: Funk and Wagnalis, 1967. Younger Critics of North America. Fairwater, WI: Tom Montag/Margins, 1976.

Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject/author heading.

The files are grouped into 10 subject-based series. There is no Series V, for reasons unknown.

  1. Series I: Articles by Richard Kostelanetz
  2. Series II: Periodicals with Poems, Reviews, Introductions or Short Fiction by Richard Kostelanetz
  3. Series III: Reviews of Works by Richard Kostelanetz
  4. Series IV: Articles and Books about Richard Kostelanetz
  5. Series VI: Radio Program Listings
  6. Series VII: Sound recordings
  7. Series VIII: Announcements of Readings, Exhibitions, etc.
  8. Series IX: Miscellaneous
  9. Series X: Video recordings
  10. Series XI: Prints

Scope and Contents

The Richard Kostelanetz Collection is a comprehensive set of printed materials, videos, sound recordings, and other materials produced by Richard Kostelanetz, downtown writer, artist, performer, critic, scholar, and an authority on concrete poetry. The collection includes books, articles, artwork, recordings, videos, computer disks, and announcements of radio programs, readings and exhibitions by Richard Kostelanetz. It also includes a small number of articles about Kostelanetz. Included in the collection are copies of all printed works by Richard, including essays, anthologies, assemblings, contributions to periodicals, etc.

SERIES DESCRIPTION

Series I: contains articles written by Richard Kostelanetz.

Series II: contains periodicals with contributions by Richard Kostelanetz.

Series III: contains reviews of Richard Kostelanetz's work.

Series IV: contains articles and books about Richard Kostelanetz.

Series VI: contains Richard Kostelanetz's radio program listings.

Series VII: contains audio recordings by Richard Kostelanetz.

Series VIII: contains announcements of readings by Richard Kostelanetz.

Series IX: This is a series containing miscellaneous material including a resume, press catalogues, computer disks, etc.

Series X: This series contains videotapes by Richard Kostelanetz.

Series XI: This series contains prints by Richard Kostelanetz.

Accretions 1998: This accretion contains material from series I, II, VI, VII, and VIII

Accretions 1999: This accretion contains material from series I, II, and IX.

Accretions 2000: This accretion contains material from series I, II, III, VII, VIII, and IX.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Identification of item, date (if known); Richard Kostelanetz Collection; MSS 089; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.

Location of Materials

Some materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please request materials at least two business days prior to your research visit to coordinate access.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Boris Kostelanetz in 1997. The accession number associated with this gift was 2010.089.

Provenance

The collection belonged to Boris Kostelanetz, Richard Kostelanetz' father, who donated the materials to the Fales Library in Jan. 1997. Full-length books were catalogued for the Downtown Collection and bear a bookplate acknowledging that they are the gift of Boris Kostelanetz. Periodical contributions, videos, audio recordings, and other materials were processed as a collection whose description follows. Accretions were added in 1998, 1999, and 2000.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Audiovisual and born-digital materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers.

Separated Material

Full-length books were catalogued for the Downtown Collection and bear a bookplate acknowledging that they are the gift of Boris Kostelanetz.

Collection processed by

Camilla Fojas, 1997. Finding aid updated by Laura Newsome, 2010. Accretions added by Lawrence Giffin, 2011.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-02-06 14:10:49 -0500.
Language: Description written in English

Processing Information

In February 2019, materials in box 21 were reordered. Materials were not rehoused or refoldered.

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from Richard KostelanetzCollection Finding Aid.htm

Repository

Fales Library and Special Collections
Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012